And boom goes the dynamite – G-Boom Bluetooth Speaker

There is no shortage of Bluetooth speakers today. From pocket-able speakers such as the JBL Micro Wireless to extravagant models like the Harman Kardon Aura, there is a size and price point that seems to fit everyone’s need. With so many options, you really must ask yourself what’s the primary purpose of the speaker you’re buying. Does it need to be portable? Do you need extra charging abilities for devices? Do you need big booming bass or do you want a more natural sound? How loud does the speaker need to get? Answering questions about how you want to use the speaker will help narrow the field and the more happy you will be with your purchase.

So where does the G-Boom fit? If you are looking for a rugged speaker that can be moved from room to room or outside in the harsh environments of a backyard BBQ, the G-Boom just might fit the bill, especially at the $99 price point.

Hardware Specs

The G-Boom is fairly large compared to other Bluetooth speakers, but offers nice portability by including a handle to quickly pick up and move around. It’s a sturdy device that feels very well built, perhaps offsetting its aesthetics. The device features a plethora of speakers as it comes in a 2.2 speaker configuration with 4 drivers and dual ports on the back for bass enhancement. The G-Boom utilizes stereo Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with AVRCP (remote control) playback. The speaker also has a rechargeable battery that is good up to 6 hours of audio playback. Note that the power adapter is not a standard USB, but a DC line in. A recent trend I have seen with powering these speakers is a micro USB connection. That would have been welcome as you now must keep yet another power adapter. A USB plug on the back also lets you charge your playing device while you stream music I have seen this on other speakers as well such as the JBL Charge and a variety of SoundFreaq speakers It’s a great feature if you want to keep your device charged during playback.

Usage

When powering on the G-Boom for the first time, it will go into automatic paring mode. If you need to add additional devices, you can use the Bluetooth pairing button. The top of the device contains the power button, EQ button (3 presets for Flat, Rock, and Pop), separate Play/FF/RW buttons, and volume buttons. The playback buttons are a nice addition that you don’t usually see with other speakers, especially at the $99 price point. This allows you to set your playback device down somewhere and change songs on the speaker itself. The speaker easily paired with both my iPhone 5s and Acer C720p Chromebook. I was able to control everything when connected to my iPhone, but only the Play/Pause feature on the Chromebook.

On the back there is the power input, USB input for charging other devices, a standards 3.5mm audio input, and a reset button. There is also a rubber cover to protect the connections on the back. The G-Boom takes roughly 3.5 hours to fully charge and will give you around 6 hours of playback depending on the volume usage. From my tests, the 6 hours was accurate.

Sound

On the default preset (Flat), the G-Boom offers a fairly robust sound. Using the different presets allows you to change the sound signature that might better match the music to which you are listening. I also found that you can use your iOS Music EQ settings to adjust the sound even more while streaming music.

The G-BOOM is larger than most Bluetooth speakers I have used. The volume can easily get loud enough to fill a large room (20ft x 20ft) while providing a decent amount of bass. It can also be used to have that outdoor party, not only with you, but also your neighbors who might not want to be subjected to your musical tastes. ;-) Bottom line, the G-Boom brings the boom stick!

Being somewhat compact, the G-Boom is not able to separate stereo sounds as compared to a more traditional stereo speaker setup. Backing away from the unit, you still feel as if the sound is coming from a single speaker instead of having the separation. Saying that, the sound will definitely be louder than a Jambox Mini or any speaker of similar size. You can crank the volume and really feel the BOOM of the device! :-)

Conclusion

For $99, the G-Boom speaker is an excellent value for sound, portability, and extra features such as the ability to charge your devices via USB. Although the speaker is larger that some of the competition, that extra room allows for a more engaging sound that can fill a room or overpower other sounds when used outside. Having the handle gives you an easy way to transport it to wherever you are looking to bring some good sounds.